Town needs to tackle its rubbish problem

Newmarket councillors are looking to launch a campaign to involve more residents in keeping the town free of litter.

But they are also concerned that the current lack of a waste depot in the town is leading to more illegal waste dumping.

At the weekend residents and community groups were out in force as part of the national Clean for the Queen initiative. Newmarket MP Matt Hancock joined one group at the Boy’s Grave near Kentford,while another group of volunteers picked up rubbish from the Fordham Road area near Tesco.

Town councillors Philippa Winter, Michael Jefferys and Warwick Hirst were busy along the Yellow Brick Road footpath, while on Studlands Park residents got involved as part of their Love Where You Live campaign.

At Monday’s meeting of the town council’s leisure services committee there was criticism that the town’s waste dump in Depot Road was still closed.

It was originally shut as a money saving measure by Suffolk County Council but re-opened by charity Newmarket Open Door as a business charging residents to dump household and garden waste.

But in September last year the centre closed after the charity said it could no longer meet its high running costs following a decline in income from recycling. “We are paying our rates and we should have somewhere to dump our rubbish,” said Cllr David Hudson.

Cllr Michael Jefferys added: “The long term consequences of the charging and closure were evident at the weekend with the rubbish that was collected.

“We need to engage the town on this issue and think about how we can get more people involved in cutting how much rubbish is dumped and dropped on our streets.”